43rd GED Commencement May 15 at Orpheum Theatre

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May 9, 2013
GALESBURG—Gwen Koehler, former dean of adult and developmental education at Carl Sandburg College, will be the speaker for the 43rd GED Commencement at 7 p.m. May 15 at the Orpheum Theatre, 57 S. Kellogg St., Galesburg. The ceremony will honor 91 students who passed the GED requirements, and a reception will follow in the Kensington Ballroom, located adjacent to the Orpheum.

Koehler has been an educator in Illinois for more than 35 years. She began her career by teaching teenagers at high school, middle school and a juvenile detention center. For the last 30 years, Koehler has been involved with adult education. She has worked as a GED teacher, literacy volunteer trainer, program coordinator, adult education director and community college dean.

Koehler worked at Sandburg from 1995 to 2006 and was named the 2004 Illinois Adult and Continuing Educators Association Administrator of the Year. She also won the 2012 IACEA President’s Award for her contributions to adult education and retired last year as executive dean of continuing and professional education at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake. As a retiree, Koehler continues to work part-time with adult students and plans to continue to do so for many years to come.

Koehler has a bachelor’s degree in English education and master’s in vocational and technical education from the University of Illinois. Her late husband, Rick, also was an educator and taught chemistry part-time at Sandburg. An award in his name is given annually to the student involved in Sandburg theater who most clearly demonstrates an appreciation on or offstage for the teamwork, positive attitude and professionalism required of those in theater.